Island Tides is mailed into 14,146 southern and northern Gulf Islands’ households, reaching all residents and their many visitors.
Our many newcomers (many well-to-do early retirees) learn where to shop from Island Tides. They have whole households to build and furnish and need to find excellent businesses to buy their consumables. They also want to know how to make ethical local choices in financial services like banking and investing.
People plan their weekly shopping trips around Island Tides’ advertisers. Your ad helps them plan their busy shopping days.
Island Tides reach Vancouver Island residents, visitors and business people on the ferries, ferry routes and our in-town boxes.
The Salish Sea and its islands and shores are a legend. Travellers (local or from afar) love our local colour and our informed west-coast view of regional, provincial and national issues. Ferry riders are a captive audience—they love to reads the local colour as they threading through the islands.
Islanders take their visitors to Vancouver Island events and attractions. Visitors can plan their activities while sitting on the ferry.
Colour is our speciality and trademark. Every page is enlivened by colour. Our photo are fabulous and keep readers turning pages.
If you want your ad in colour, we have created a rate that makes colour affordable for smaller ads. Research shows that colour is more powerful than size as a marketing tool.
If you advertise in Island Tides, you get into every mailbox. We are exempt from Consumer Choice (junk mail refusers). Up to 20% of each island ask not to receive unaddressed mail. As a newspaper, Island Tides delivers government messages to every household.
Island Tides publish every second Thursday, so you get to be in every edition and only pay for an ad every second week.
Island Tides is a compact 16 pages. We give less pages, more copies (our circulation is 18,000 copies). This gives your ad excellent visibility and lots of exposure.
Your ad is not lost in dozens of pages. This means you don’t have to buy big—your ad costs less and has yet has excellent visibility.
Island Tides favour long-term customers, with our deep prepayment discounts for ad series (up to 30%). That rate of return is much better than bank interest!
We accept VISA and Mastercard payment at no extra charge, to help with the up-front outlay.
People do not buy big-ticket items every week and your business’ name needs to be in front of them when they are ready to buy.
We also give deep discounts on large one-time ads if you can prepay by deadline day (20% on ¼ Pagers, 30% on ½ Pagers).
On a prepayment discount series Island Tides’ Bulletin Board can get you in every one of Island Tides 18,000 copies for as little as $31.28 per edition — that’s $15.65 per week, the cost of a burger and a soft drink.
Island Tides has 3,500 online readers each month, often well-heeled Island wannabes, planning their home purchase and future life here. They tell us love our unique, colourful photos and inspiring news.
When you buy a series of advertisements, we provide a free link to your website from our homepage. As long as you have a website, this works for small ads as well as big ones.
As well as the link to your website, online readers will see your ad just as it appears in the printed version. For West Coast Wannabes our website is their first introduction to local and regional goods and services.
You can read ‘Testimonials’ from advertisers and readers.
If you don’t have a graphic designer we can help with making your ad—email us what you want it to say, attach a hi-res logo (TIFF usually) and we’ll put it together. Then we’ll send it back to you for your approval or a rethink. We can help with ideas.
We like it when people keep their ad fresh. If you want to change part of your ad each edition or update it sometimes, we are happy to accommodate you.
If you need your ad to appear in a hurry we are good at making things happen in a hurry.